Flemish Foodies and locality: Smoked Filet Américain

Dumdidedee dumdidedee…

My bumble bee…
What’s in your Easter basket?
No delicious rack of lamb this year?
No gooey chocolate eggs this year?
No no, as the first rays of sunshine are sparkling on my face, I bring you a refreshing innovating local dish.

The foodie world goes loca for local these days! Slow food, local, organic… All very hip words. But I think René Redzepi from Noma showed us what it’s really all about. I’ll let him describe in his own words what the philosophy is:

“Our main mission at the restaurant and what I tell the staff when they leave here is, give your guests a sense of time and place. Whether it’s the product range, which is a big part of us, but also the whole atmosphere, the way that the restaurant is set. That’s how we give our guests a sense of time and place.
It can only happen right here at this corner in Copenhagen at this time of the year. This is the essence of what we do.”

And like mushrooms popping up in an autumn field, foodie groups and movements promoting this spirit are appearing out of every kitchen.

There is one group I believe that should receive honorable mention: the Flemish foodies. Of course I’m biased. For I can say with pride “C’est ici! C’est chez moi!”
Three young excellent chefs come together, have a lot of fun and promote the core business of the local philosophy movement. They even started a business called “Local Food Express”. They deliver top quality products from small scale regional farmers directly to top restaurants. They deal with only the crème de la crème breeders and farmers from Western Flanders. This is an excellent project to help and protect the small farmers from big multinationals.

Now if I were to have my say in it, I would tell them who to turn to for beef. Because I’m privileged to have it from one farm that tops all other farms. Yes, yes I’m talking about my little butcher. Yes, the one from ‘The exceptional beef’-post. The one where each cow has a name and a story. You can’t get anything more unique and tasty than that! You can’t get anything more local and organic than that.

So this year for Easter I devote my dish to…

-My wonderful butcher: “Beef pure and strong in character is presented as tartare.”

-Locality: “The recipe is the one and only Filet Americain recipe… Une des meilleures inventions Belges.”

–The Flemish foodies: “The dish is complimented by a smoked egg.” (How could I not have something eggy for Easter). And it’s finished off with homemade mustard. Again recipe from ‘les mecs’…

Try this dish. But more importantly let your garden inspire you this Easter.

Dumdidee dumdidee…
A native bumblebee nibbles on my mom-made jam with raspberry

Smoked Filet Américain
By Ariane Annicq
Serves 2 persons

200 gram White Blue Beef, chopped in tartare
2 smoked egg yolks (cfr Olly Ceulenaere)
2 teaspoons of capers
2 gherkins
1 finely chopped spring onion
A handful of chopped parsley
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons of homemade mustard seeds (cfr Jason Blanckaert)
Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and enjoy with a tossed salad and a toast. Or à la façon Belge: with French Fries.